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FILE NAME: Concrete (CONC) DATE: 1951 July DOC#: CONC021 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: Journal Article - Legislation Dominates Silica Meeting  O > JULY, 1951 THE INDUSTRY'S R EC O G N IZ ED AUTHORITY Bror Nordberg Sditor N ath an C. Rockvvd Editorial Constant This Month W Hear 35 Editorial--A gstone Associations A pproaching M erg er 39 Rocky's N otes--C onfused Chem istry o f P o rtla n d C em ent 41 Labor Relations Trends 43 The Personal Side of the News 45 industry News 49 Hints and Helps 52 New Machinery 54 Handling Large Tonnages of Gravel 56 Large m ining operation m Nevada employs belt con veyed s to effective advantage and r-uggests practical ideas for best perform ance W a lte r B. l e n h a r t Legislation Dom inates Silica M eeting 60 C ar supply, im proved packing m ethods and indus trial hygine legislation also em phasized a t annual m eeting Evaluation and Developm ent of Kiln Efficiencies 65 P a rt IV, M arne characteristics for m axim um heat trartsfer and m inim um loss discussed in detail V ictor J, A zbe G yratory Screen D eveloped for Sizing Fine M aterials 69 Plant Designed for Low Labor Cost 70 : Cam pbell L im estone Co, g ran ite p lan t uses surge pile, larg e platform scale, interlocked m otors and offers m any d etails fo r efficient production W a lte r B. L en h art E xpanding P erlite in R otary Kiln 74 Jacketed kiln a t New O rleans plant perm its pre- . . heating and controlled expansion of ore Lime Producers Discuss M arket D evelopm ent 77 R esearch, safety and governm ent restrictio n s also given prom inence a t annual convention Reseorch on Hydraulic Properties of G ranulated Blast Furnace Slag faro Tanaka & Kvnihiro Takemoto 82 Selection of V-Belt Drives for Best Perform ance 85 Vermiculite Producers Hold Annual M eeting 86 NeW m a rk e ts an d prom otional ideas em phasized by ; V erm iculite In stitu te Nonmetallic M inerals in Northwest 88 M in erals c o n fe re n c e discloses g r e a t d e v e lo p m e n t in natural resources and potentials for future R alph S. M ason New Applications of Prestressed Assembly of Masonry Units 100 B asalt Rock Co. finds th a t its S tresterete develop m ent has w idened sates outlets into m any fields Chicago's Ready Mix Industry Continues Rapid Growth 112 M aterial Service Corp. has ultra-m odern central m ixing plant and now has more than one hundred trucks serving city and suburbs L. D avid Minsk Selling Block Throughout W ide A rea 116 C am pbell S u p p ly Co., M arq u ette, M ich., utilizes dealei.s and advertising, has larg e capacity m ech anized plant : 2 ROCK PRODUCTS July S51 W olter B. Lenhart, A ssociate Editor L. Dovid Minsk, A ssociate Editor m . k . Smith, A ssista n t Editor E. M. Amocher, A s s is ta n t Editor M. A. Christiansen, Assistant Editor Contributing Editors Victor J* Azbe Dr. F. O. Anderegg M. W. Loving Jom es A* Barr, Jr. Home Office Morgan K. Cottingham, Ad. Manager M ary A. W halen, Subscription Dir. M. s. Hendricks, Dir. of Research c . M. Hancock, Production Manager c. P. Teots, Field Representative District Offices Eastern A rea-- Richard Y. Fuller, Manager; John F. Lockitt, Assist ant, 522 Fifth Ave., New York 18, Tel. Murray Hill 2-7888. Central Area-- R. P. Keine, Manager, Hanna Bldg,, Cleveland 15, Tel. Main 1-4362. M idwest A rea-- E. H. Hickey, Rep resentative, 809 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago 6, Tel. Harrison 7-7890. W estern Area-- L. C. Thaon, Man ager, 309 W est Jackson Blvd., Chi cago 6, Tel. Harrison 7-7890. Pacific Area-- Duncan Scott & Co., Mills B ld g , San Francisco 4, Tel. Garfield 1-7950. In Los Angeles 5, 2978 W ilshire Blvd., Tel. Dunkirk 8-4151. London, England-- Harold F. Charles, Managing Director, Maclean-Hwnter, Ltd., Sun L ife of Canada Bldg., T rafalgar Square, London, S.W J- R0C K PRODUCTS Is blisbcil M A C LEA N -H U N T E R Publishing C e r i w r i t i w j ' ' West Jackson B lvd ., Chicago 6. Ilnno is; J h W * ; Hunter. President; E. R. Sauley, Vick J . L . Fra zie r, Secretary, Copyright, 1951. as second-class matter, Jan. 3 0 , 1935, " J* < caoo, i l l . post office under the act ( J . " * r1879. Additional entry at Milwaukee, w is. RO CK PRO D U CTS is indexed r w u l x h W w ; neering Index, Inc. and the Industrial Arts SU BSC RIPTIO N INFORMATION Subscription P rice : United States am Canada one year, $ 2 .0 0 ; two years, years, S4 .0 0 . Pan American, one yea years, S 7 .0 0 ; three years, $1 0.00. i eion, one year, $ $ .0 0 ; two years, ! /ears, 5 1 5 .0 0 . Twenty-five cents tor Canadian subscriptions and remittances f f j in Canadian funds to ROCK PRODUCTS. Box 100. Term inal " A ," Toronto. C a n j . To Subscribers-- Oate on wrapper ^ with which your subscription expires. . to have address ^changed, Dive old ** well ddrtss . ^ lsSOt J pt* * Silica Legislation Dominates Silica Meeting Car supply, improved packing methods and industrial hygiene legislation also emphasized a t annual meeting National I c ia t io n 's ndustrial fifteenth Sand annual A sso m eet ing, held May 16-18 a t T he Home stead, Hot Springs, Va., had a diver sified program a n d w as h ig h lig h ted by round-table, inform al discussions of industry problems. Production problems, traffic m atters, federal law s and restrictions, industrial health, foundry sand problems and a round table discussion of cu rren t problem s confronting the industry w ere cover ed, followed by an extrem ely in te re st ing talk on the W ashington scene by executive secretary V. P. A h eam . Sterling N. F arm er, Sand Products Corp., Cleveland, O hio, w as re-elected president of the association as w ere vice-president C. M. H a rd y , H a rd y Sand Co., E vansville, In d ., a n d tr e a s u re r Clarence R. W olf, New Jersey Silica Sand Co., M illville, N . J. Due to a constitutional provision limiting members of the board of di rectors to a tw o-year term , th ree new members were elected a t th e m eeting. They are Earl T. Andrews, Pennsyl vania Glass Sand Corp., H ancock, W. V a.; Em ery M. D urstine, The K eener Sand and Clay Co., Colum bus, Ohio, and P. W. Palm er, Browntown Silica Co., B row ntow n, W is. R ussell G. Cronenweth, G reat Lakes Foundry Sand Co., D etro it, M ich.; L yle T. M anky, M anley S and Co., Rockton, 111.; a n d Jesse T. M orie, Je s se S. Morie & Sons, Inc., M auricetow n, N . J., complete th e board of directors. P ast presidents J. M. Strouss, Deck ers Creek Sand Co., M organtow n, W . V a.; A. Y. G regory, W hitehead B ro th ers Co.. New Y ork, N . Y .; an d George A. Thornton, O ttaw a Silica Co., O ttaw a, 111., a r e ex-officio m em bers of the hoard of directors. The fall m eeting of the association will be held a t T he G reenbrier, W hite S ulphur S prings, W. Va., October 17-19. A n a g re e m e n t h a s been con cluded w ith The H om estead to hold the annual sp rin g m eetings at Hot Springs, Va., th ro u g h 1956. The 1952 fall m eeting is scheduled for Berm uda during October, dependent upon ac comm odations available. Opening Session Sterling N. F arm er, president, pre sided over the opening session at which w ere presented the financial re port by executive secretary V. P. A hearn and the rep o rt on nom ina tions. They follow ed a discussion of traffic m atters led by E m ery M. D u r stine, chairm an of th e traffic com m it tee and Commerce Counsel W illiam W . Collin, J r . M r. D urstine com m ented briefly on tw o cases being con ducted by th e association in th e in terests of its membership. Mr. Collin did not have a p rep ared paper. He touched upon the decision handed down on M arch 30 in th e bonded sand case w hich resulted in obtaining a reduction in ra te s fo r open car shipm ents w hich is su b stan tial for long h au ls bu t leaves the d e ferential as it w as fo r distances under 300 m iles. T h e decision is n 't a ll t h a t w as hoped fo r b u t M r. Collin recom mended th a t a re-h earin g not be sought at this tim e by the association because it w as unlikely th a t testim ony could be im proved. T he box car case w ent to tr ia l on M arch 14 an d w ith the support of th e Glass C ontainer M anufacturers Institute. Com m enting g en erally on the sub ject of freig h t rates, M r. A hearn said th a t he believed th e association should p articip ate in fre ig h t ra te cases as a m atter of good custom er relations in a tte m p tin g to hold th eir costs dow n, p a rtic u la rly d u rin g times 0f p ric e co n tro ls. Furthermore, he b i * lieves th a t the industry has a rightto oppose a n y cost increases that re flect in prices, in o rd er to protect itsm arkets. Production Problems A rn o ld T an zer, N ew Jersey Pulver iz in g Co., N ew Y o rk , N . Y., reported on h is exp erien ces w ith new bagging m a c h in e p a r t s su p p lie d in an effort to re d u c e m a in te n a n c e a n d to minimize th e d u st problem in packing opera tions. D ue to d elay s in delivery of the p a r ts , o f sp ecial h ig h priced alloy, M r. T a n z e r could sp e a k from only six w eeks' experience w ith th e new parts. A f te r six w eeks of experience, none of th e p a r ts h a d been replaced but n e ith e r h a d those of ordinary metal in th e sam e serv ice over the same period. T here w as indication of wear on b o th th e o rd in a ry a n d special alloyp a r ts . W h ile he b eliev es the special alloy m a y la s t lo n g e r he does not be lieve th e ir life w ill be sufficiently g r e a te r to ju s tif y th e added costs. T hese p a rts a re priced fo u r times as high a s conventional m etal parts. Mr. T a n z e r believes th e y w ould be difficult of re p la c e m e n t an d h e h a s not noted an v im p ro v e m e n t in th e du st problem. N o im a n H . C ussey, W edron Silica Co., C hicago, 111., re p o rte d his experi ences w ith th e A uger-M atic packing m achine. H is experience has been sat isfa c to ry in p acking sand blast sand, u s in g v alv e b a g s, a f t e r certain need ed a d ju stm e n ts. T h is is a one-tube m achine th a t will pack unground sand a t th e r a t e o f 800 b a g s p e r day. K use h a s proved sa tisfa c to ry in experi m e n ta l p a c k in g o f g ro u n d silica, with l e f t to right tin picture o f l e f t ! ; Mr. a n d Mrs. T. E. Rust, C layton Silica Co.. W aterloo, Iowa, a n d M r. an d Mrs. H. P. H ordy, Wordy Sond Co.. EvoBS_ yille, Ind. Right: P. W. Polm er, Mrs. M arcus W right, Jr., Mr. an d Mrs, A rnold Tonrter an d M arcus W right, Jr. jackin | much i | the mi t gnalle, 4f limited dust is J off ant affords ? dust p ; Stan . session j problei ' servati machii >the sti ing pr; t manuf f i 4-tube town ductioi !- b. t 5 Mr. V i search Found been v sand 1 larged for dii ; commi , sider resins. . tanpei The g S IL IC A ted Inf; t-> tire ra the ioy. six rts. 3 of but eta! ime ear Hoy dal bently >sts. s as Mr. 1cnlt oted kmlira icriking satAnd, leedtube sand -, Its ; p e ri1 with no leakage of flour, but no a tte m p t had vet been m ade to pack hot silica under norm al plant conditions. As compared to the fa m ilia r B ates packing m achine, th e c a p a c ity is much lower, but M r. C ussev believes the m achine m ig h t he ideal fot th e smaller p lants and others which do a limited am ount of b ag g in g . A s f a r a s dust is concerned, th e ie is a good c u t off and no leakage and a p p a ie n tlv it affords some hope of a llev iatin g the bust problem. Stanton W alkei concluded the fiist session w ith a review of fo u n d ry san d problems. Mr. W alker added his ob servations on the subject of packing machines, he h a v in g been activ e in the study undei w ay to im prove p a c k ing practice. He m entioned a m ach in e m anufactured in Chicago and also the 4-tube packer developed by B row ntown Silica Co. w hich is now* in p ro duction. In com m enting on san d re se a rc h , Mr. W alker said th a t th e Sand R e search Division of the A m erican Foundrymen's A ssociation h a s not been verv active in recen t y e a rs. T he sand testing handbook is b ein g e n larged and revised and will be ready for distribution in six m onths. A new committee is being o rg an ized to consider core m ixtures using binding reSms- Physical p ro p e rtie s of h ig h temperature molds are being studied. e grinding and fineness committee j* m ' M oson, C lo yto rt S ilic a C o ., W< two, le f t, ch o ts w ith P . W . P o lm e r, iown Silico C o , B ro w nto w n, W has had one m eeting in two years and has developed a secondary stan d ard foi testing sand. Mr. W alker said th a t there was m uch d a ta a v a ila b le in h is office on the subject of foundry sands as a re sult of a su rp risin g am ount of work th a t has been done by the association. T h is w ork, he sa id , h a s re su lte d in th e good specifications th at presently p re vail. As a result of recent questions by two in d u strial sand producers. Mr. W alker has been endeavoring to se cure inform ation on the relative ef ficiencies of steel g rin d in g balls and flint pebbles as used in g rin d in g mills. Steel balls have proved m ost efficient. A ccording to his findings, in th e portland cement in d u stry the consum ption of steel balls is 0.2-0.5 lb. per ton of cement production. For silica, the con su m p tio n would be about 1 lb. p e r ton of flour produced. Business Conditions C. M. H ard y , vice-president, p re sided fo r th e second general session which considered th e railroad car sit uation, priorities and prices. C. R. M egee, v ic e -c h a irm a n , C ar Service Division, A ssociation of A m er ican R ailroads, outlined th e outlook for lailro ad cars and suggested ways in w hich sh ip p ers can cooperate to im prove the car supply situation. He opened his talk w ith the statem ent M orcus W right S. Wrtghfr, J r., o od M orcus S III, South R iver Sond C o , Old Bridge, N. J. th a t production and distribution con stitu te a joint problem, and by saying th a t w e can have av ailab le in the U nited States as m uch of commodities as we can transport. The industrial sand indu stry , with a c u rr e n t a n n u a l p ro d u c tio n o f 12,000,000 tons, req u ires 200,000 c a r loads per year but a to tal of 850.000 carloads per week are cu rren tly being loaded by the railroads. W hereas a great num ber of cars w ere put in service over a th iee-y ear period, there still exists a great de mand for new cars and the principal leason fo r the current shortage has been lack of m aterials w ith which to build them . T he need now is fo r 300,000 cars a t a tim e w hen 60,000 cars a year are scheduled for retirem ent. A s of A pril 1, 1951. th e re w ere 156,000 cars on order from th e carbuilders, of w hich 60,000 a re box ears, and 2400 locomotives. Mr. Megee pledged th a t the num ber of unserviceable cars will be reduced sh arp ly . As of A pril 1, th e re w ere 81.000 cars w aiting fo r re p a irs and 40.000 had been resto red to service since A u g u st, 1950. The program for new cars, as set u p in O cto b er, 1950, c a llin g fo r 10,000 cars a month over a tw o-year period has not yet been reached. The rail roads added 8000 new c ars in A pril, 1951, an d 9000 w ere expected in May. Steel is the critical item and the A rthur B. Schlesm ger, New Jersey Pul v erizing Co., New York, N. Y. ROCK PRODUCTS, July, 1951 61 l e f t : S ta n to n W alker, le ft, an d Lyle T. M anley, Monley Sand Co,, R ockton, III., discuss " s ig n a ls" or so m ething. R ight: Russell Cronenweth, 6 re0f Lokes Foundry Sond Co., D etroit, M ich., with Mrs. C ronenw eth ot picnic disturbing element is th a t th ere is a move now to cut the quantity of avail able steel th a t has been prom ised. An allocation of 170,000 tons of steel pet month had been provided fo r car building and that m ay be reduced. There is also a move now to cut the railroads' MRO quota about one-third. C arbuilders have been la g g in g on filling orders since th e first of the year and the n et gains in car ow ner ship have been slow. Box cars will he the most serious bottleneck in the months ahead and gondolas will be the num ber two problem. According to Mr. Megee, arm am en t production increases w ill reflect in heavy car requirem ents beginning about October, lit51. The sh o rta g e of watei shipping facilities is another factor, with some 500 carloads of M innesota iron ore being shipped daily. Of an estim ated 87,000,000 tons of iron ore to be shipped this year from M innesota, 4,000,000 tons will come by rail. On the other hand, it was pointed out th a t some industries are cutting production during the tra n sitio n to w ar goods m anufacture which will re lease some cars im m ediately. The w inter w heat cron urns down so the movement of grain in box c a rs will not be too serious th is y ear. W ith 24,000 covered hoppers on h an d and 5000 on o rd er, th e situ a tio n th e r e is an im provem ent over a year ago. T here are som e 70,000,000 tons of coal in stockpiles now as com pared to 24,000,000 tons a sh o rt tim e ago, w hich is fa v o ra b le . I t is M r. M egee's belief th a t the use of covered hoppers to tran sp o rt cem ent fo r off-shore de fense construction will not prove seri ous because the hauls are short and the tu rn -aro u n d tim e is quick. Mr. Megee urged th a t the industry cooperate in ord er to get m ost benefit from existing cars. He stressed the need for quicker turn-around time. T he a v e ra g e tu r n -a ro u n d tim e w as 15 days for the m onth of A pril which, if reduced to 14 d a y s, w ould th e o re tic a lly m ean 100,1100 m o re a v a ila b le ears. He also suggested th a t more hoppers be used in p referen ce to gondolas w hen ever they can be used. Government Restrictions Government regulations and the workings of restrictiv e m easures w eie in terp re ted in d etail by executive sec retary V. P. Ah earn m an inform al discussion w ith p articip atio n by the m em bership. S peaking on the subject of OPS and price regulation, Mr. Ahearn said th at an industry ad visory com m ittee w ill soon he appoint ed to work closely w ith OPS. He said th at the industrial sand industry m ust anticipate a roll-back to preKorea prices fo r its products. The in dustrial sand in d u stry , in its deal ings with O PS, is tak in g the position th a t p ric e con tro l is not essential f or th e in d u stry because of the competi tiv e n a tu ie o f th e b u sin ess but it is doubtful th a t this recommendation will be approved. Mr. A beam next discussed the p roblem s an d p io c e d u ie s involved in securing equipm ent and rep air and op eratin g supplies. Ilefense Minerals A dm im sti ation is the clearing agency for all m ining operations and has undei its jurisdiction the approval and allocations for access roads, hous ing, m achinery, expansion programs. MRO items, etc. At present, a priority sy stem o rd e r sim ila r to th e P-5fi order operative during World W ar H is being fo rm u lated and the M F -I0 0 se ria l form b eing issued will serialize p lan ts, covering MRO items and m inor capital additions. Empha sis will be on keeping existing plants in operation. In d u s tria l sand producers will se cure a m ining p rio rity fo r MRO items which Mr. A hearn believes will be a high one. E ach p lan t will have a sep a ra te serial num ber although several plan ts of a com panj in the same area and covered by a common bookkeep ing system m ay be covered by a sin gle serial n u m b ei. T he outlook f o r steel is not good and the dem ands fo r direct defense m an u fa c tu rin g are expected to re quire m ore th a n 50 percent of the to tal o u tp u t beginning in July and L ett: N orm an H. Crissey, W edron Silica Co.. C hicogo, III. C enter: V ic e-p re sid e n t C. M. H ardy o t H ordy Sond Co., Evansville, ind., le ft, w ith execu tive secretory V. P. A h earn . R ig h t: A couple ot live wires o t th e picnic w ere R alph Lebold, M ichigan Silica Ca., Rockwood, M ic h , left, ond Arnold T a m e r, New Jersey Pulverizing Co., New York City sf": f ine im, Ibioustl : benefit =of ind 1 states.j 'been 1 and tf ' So, hej : for ei| cost O: do wlj emploi tional! In ! mentS: during said tS tures | still II not ye As e enacte satlon state g uled ol ing sil S' p< made , ty iii ) siiicosi bility at $4U| came 1 rate o all ma Sev< ;n the cupatl appan left: H c'ty, oi BOCK P R O D U C T S J u l y . 195) Great al for np e t it is la t ion 1 the ed in r and r erals .genes d has ] rovai housjrams. ; rioritv j P-56 I War d the >d will items f impila- I pi ants j vili seI items II be ; a sepseveral ne area j nkkeep-d : a sin-t , frocwj defense to of the il y ii8' 4u?Ust. T hm e will he a i ising tem po pf demands for all critical m a te ria ls wph the result th a t th e su p p ly situ a jion "'ill become to u g h ei th a n ev er known befote Industrial Health ryssociat ion counsel T h eo d o ie C. Waters, in his an n u al re p o it. covered current develnpmenl s in m atters of industrial health, including an analv,,a of legislation introduced in the vaiious states d u iin g the last legis lative year and discussion of in d u s trial hygiene codes. Jn in troducing his su b je c t, Mr Waters pointed out th a t in d u strial tngiene is assu m in g new an d in creas,ng im portance each d ay and th a t th e industry is b eg in n in g to re a p th e benefits of the a c tiv itie s of b u re a u s ,,f industrial hvgien e in th e v a rio u s states. Com pensation benefits have been m aterially in creased , he said, and the trend is C( n tin u in g u p w a rd . So. he em phasized, it is good b u sin ess for every employer to consider th e cost of com pensation benefits a n d to do whatever can he done to p ro tect employes from in ju rie s a n d o ccu p a tional diseases. In discuss'ng leg islativ e develop ments in w o rk m en 's com pensation during the c a le n d a r y e a r 1351 be said th a t all but four s ta te le g isla tures have been in session. Som e a re still in session and d ev elo p m en ts a re rot yet known. As of the end of 1950, 41 s ta te s had eracted occupational disease com pen sation schedules, a n d th is y e a r th e state of Vermont has enacted a sched uled occupational disease s t a tu t e m a k ing silicosis com nensable. An in te r e s t ing point w as th a t for all d iseases made compensable only to ta l disab ilitv or death receives benefits. For silicosis, there is a lim ita tio n o f lia bility of grad u ated benefits b e g in n in g at $400 in the fiist m o n th th e a c t b e came effective and in c re a sin g a t th e 'ate of $25 p er m onth w ith an o v e r all maximum of $400(1. Several bills ha-, e been in tro d u ced m the state of O klahom a to m ake oc cupational disease com pensable a r'd apparentlv the com m ittee favored the SILICA adoption of a schedule law including the disease of silicosis with special provisions lim iting m onetary liabili ty, denying com pensation for p artial disability and including special lim i ta tio n s w ith resp e c t to th e tim e forfiling claims. j Despite the opposition of producers, / the silicosis and asbestosis compensaI tion s ta tu te effective since J a n u a r y 1, l 1945, w as repealed, which m akes dust ' diseases compensable w ithout cer tain desired protective features. Am ong them are lim itation of mone ta ry liability, denial of com pensation for partial disability and restrictions lim iting the filing of claims. As fa r as the im portant state of P en n sy lv an ia is concerned, it was predicted th a t there would be sub s ta n tia l in c re a se s in co m pensation benefits but no changes in th e occu pational disease provisions of the act. A t p re se n t, th e re a re 21 s ta te s w ith special lim itations applicable to sili cosis, of w hich 15 deny com pensation for p a rtial disability. In those states, r a te s a re less th a n h a lf o f those in sta te s w here p a rtia l disability is com pensable. As of J a n u a ry I, 1951, 24 states provided general coverage for occu p a tio n a l diseases w hile 18 provided scheduled coverage. W ith respect to am endm ents, there has been substan tia l increase in benefits w ith prospect of fu rth e r increased benefits soon. T he resu lt is an increase in com pen sation costs w ith a rise in ra te s w hich will become effective next year. W ith respect to the proposed state occupational health and safety bill of th e U. S. D epartm ent of Labor, Mr. W aters said th a t the bill indicates the purpose of state labor d ep art m en ts to in crease th e ir activ ities in th is field. The d ra f t is being d is tributed to state departm ents as a guide for legislative action. Mr. W a te r s ' criticism is th e contem plated a s signm ent of the adm inistration of the bill to state departm ents of labor rather than state departm ents of health and th at this plan constitutes a n o th e r field of legislative activity de signed to control and regulate busi ness. Speaking on in d u strial codes, he said th a t th e code preh by the U nited S tates Public Heai Service is being considered by the A m erican S tandards Association and will la te r be subm itted to state de p artm en ts as a guide to the prom ul gation of other codes. M r. W aters said th a t, according to th e N ational Council on W orkm en's Com pensation Insurance Rating, the national experience in silicosis claims has continued excellent and th at there is a tren d developing th a t will result in fu r th e r decreased insurance rates as a result. Mr. W aters credited the association w ith playing an im por ta n t p a rt in th e favorable action. H o w ev er, in c re a se d ben efits of 25 to 50 p e rc e n t a r e b e in g considered in new legislation covering workmen s com pensation insurance rates gener ally. Follow ing this talk, a question was a sk ed w ith re fe re n c e to ``p roducts lia b ility '' claim s w hich m ig h t be m ade ag ain st a producer in the event th at an end product, like glass for exam ple, m ight not be up to stan d ard and the glass m anufacturer might a t tem pt to attach th e blam e to a de fective sand. Mr. W aters does not be lieve such claim s can be justified and he said th a t in s u ra n c e com panies do not know how to assess prem ium s for such coverage. It represents a new field of in su ran ce a n d ra te s a re high. Government Regulations The concluding session, under the ch airm an sh ip of C larence R. W olf, was divided into an inform al round table discussion on governm ent re g u lations and other industry problems led by executive se c re ta ry V. P. A hearn, followed by an extem porane ous speech on th e W ashington scene by Mr. A hearn. M r. A hearn had covered some of th e in d u s try p roblem s g en erally , in the preceding session. He cautioned th a t serious penalties m ay be levied in violations of the w age stabilization law s, a s d rastic as disallow ance of the to tal payroll fo r income tax pu>poses. A t present, Mr. A hearn said that HenrY Roeser, Jr, New Jersey Silico Send Co., M illville, N. J. l i e f t) , h o ttin g w ith Jom es H. W h ite h e a d , W h ite h ea d B rothers Co., New York Ity, ot picnic. C enter Mr. ond Mrs. W. B. S y g e r, O tta w a Silico Co., O ttow o, III. R ight: W illiam J. W oods, Jr., P ennsylvania Gloss Sand Corp., Pittsburgh, Penn Ile ft! , chats with John H. Miller, M ifflin Sond Co., iew istow n, Penn., os Stonton W olker approaches in background ROCK PRODUCTS, July, 1951 63 there is a g reat fight fo r pow er now underway between labor and health agencies in W ashington. T his b attle fo r power will continue in th e sta te s w ith the result th a t th ere will be pressure on the ind ustry, th ere being great public opinion th roughout the country to protect the w orkers. The industrial sand industry like ly will be exem pted from ren eg o tia tion, in which case the in d u stry will be fo rtu n ate because renegotiation applies generally to all sub-contracts. Speaking on the subject of con struction lim itations, it w as m ention ed th a t in d u stria l co n stru ctio n h as been placed under licensing fo r th e first time. A license is required if m ore than 25 tons of steel a re needed for such construction even if the nec essary steel is on hand in advance. A cceleiated depreciation is provided fot in DPA reg u latio n s based on a 5-year plan. Such am oitization is per missible covering the percentage of production used in actual defense and will be difficult to obtain. The boaid of directors has decided that the association again conduct a wage rate survey sim ilar to the one completed last year. These studies are considered of value in negotiations with unions. Mr. A hearn cautioned that the sixth round of w age in creases is coming, which will put heavy pressure on the in d u stry fo r pay raises in th e face of a grow ing shortage of available help. He believes th a t th e five percent percentage depletion allowance re cently approved fo r the in d u stry by the House W ays and M eans Commit tee has a good chance of approval by Congress although th ere will be dif ficulty m getting it through the sen ate. Efforts will be continued to se cure the 15 p e rc e n t a llo w an c e o rig inally sought. Mr. A hearn paid trib ute to C h arles B ra d y , L ilesville, N. C., and J. Rutledge Hill, D allas, Texas, fo r th eir fine w ork in p re se n tin g th e case fo r the in d u stry in conjunction with the sand and gravel industry. Procurem ent of MRO item s and capital equipment w as discussed but, by the tim e th is re p o rt is p u b lish ed , there may be more recent orders that have changed the picture. The industry js subject to reg u la tion 4 of D.M.A. fo r M.R.O. item s and for minor capital equipm ent costing less than $750, said M r. A hearn. He lecommended th a t DO-97 form s not he used unless a producer is forced to use them. W hile quotas fo r MRO item s are limited, on a q uarterly basis, to the amount, purchased fo r th e correspond ing q u a rte rs in 1950, the tro u b le is that higher prices have developed at a time when more supplies are needed. If the allotted am ount is insufficient, a producer should apply fo r a greater quota. In the case of m ajor capital equip m ent, it was suggested th a t producers apply directly to H. A. M ontag, di --------------- S IL IC A -------------- rector, R equirem ents Division, De fense M in erals A dm in istratio n in W ashington. Through use of this pro cedure, M r. A hearn said th a t two concerns had been successful in se curing th eir requirem ents w ithin three weeks. He did not know of any rejections. It w as suggested th a t a list of custom ers be attached to such applications and th a t evidence be of fered th at the equipm ent was u n a t tainable w ithout a priority, prefer ably by letters secured from m anu facturers as proof. A s of th e tim e of M r. A h e a rn 's ta lk , rubber goods and bags were no longer covered by DO-97 ra tin g s and m ust be purchased on the open m arket or, if unsuccessful, be obtained through use of a special ratin g . It was pointed out that custom ers of the industry constitute a "blue ribbon" list of value in g a in in g assistance. The industry is under general price controls until a tailored order for the industrial sand industry is w ritten. Such an ord er m ay be w ritten specif ically for the in d u stry or covering the nonm etallics group of industries. A com m ittee to be appointed fo r the purpose will have a g re a t deal of in fluence. The in dustry is subject to the roll back to pre-K orean prices but will take the stan d th a t norm al com peti tion is effective in holding its prices down. The in d u stry will be able to in crease prices to com pensate for labor in creases up to M arch 15, 1951. There w as much discussion of regu la tio n s g o v e rn in g p e rm issib le 10 p e r cent w ag e in c re a se s o v er J a n u a r y 15, 1950, figures. The opinion w as th a t the an n u al to ta l payroll is governing and th a t w age increases m ay be dis tributed in any w ay. If the num ber of men has increased in a plant since Ja n u a ry 15, 1950, application m ust be m ade for a proportionate allowance. V acations and paid holidays, sickness and accident benefits are all charged a g a in st th e 10 percen t w age ra te lim itation. If a new job is created, the p ro d u cer should go ahead and fix a sensible w age ra te covering the job. If a raise is due a w orker because bis statu s has changed to a more im por tan t job, proof of th a t fact will p er m it deviation from the ten percent lim itation. Bonuses m ay be continued, if given before, b u t they m ay not be increased m ore th a n 10 percent. T here w as so m uch in terest in the application of w age increases that Mr. A hearn will put out a special re p o rt on ap p licatio n of th e 10 percent rule. In any discussion of wages, re gardless of governm ent regulations, M r. A hearn advised th a t companies continue to b arg ain in good faith with the unions and not base refusal of wage increases on w age stabilization iem ulations exclusively. In com m enting on p rice controls, the general price regulation lim its prices to the h ighest prices custom ers of the sam e class paid during the De cem ber 19, 1950, to J a n u a ry 25 in -, p erio d . A com pany m u st not Uy&1' sell a t figures over those base priced T h e p ric e s th a t g o v ern a re the deliv ered prices, quoted prices governin' if no deliveries w ere made during ttf base period. Custom ary price diffe/ e n tia ls m u st be m aintained. Railroad fr e ig h t in c re a se s m u s t be absorbed if a com pany quotes delivered pricesotherw ise prices m ay be proportion ately increased. M r. A hearn predicted th a t a series of increases in railroad fre ig h t ra te s is coming. W ashington Scene L a d ie s a t th e convention were in. v ited to h e a r th e concluding talk on th e W a sh in g to n scene, which was an u n p rep ared speech by Mr. Ahearn in w hich h e g av e h is im pressions on a n u m b e r o f m a tte r s of interest to everyone. At the s ta rt, he said th a t the Wash in g to n sto ry still is th e "g reat de b a te ." A p p ra is in g th is subject, he said th a t G en eral M a c A rth u r came into th e p ic tu re a t a tim e when the coun tr y needed a h ero , shortly a fte r the K e fa u v e r co m m ittee exposed th e de g ra d in g side of public officials. The m ost im portant resu lt of the Mac A rth u r episode is th a t he stimulated m o ra le , he said , a n d only tim e will te ll w h e th e r h is p ow erful appeal t:> the m asses m ight prove dangerous. G e n eral M a rs h a ll's answ er to Gen eral M acA rth u r w as touched upon, a n d th e ris k s of w a r th a t m ight be taken should the M acA rthur program be u n d e rta k e n . T h e p o p u lar opinion in W a sh in g to n is s h iftin g to th e Mac A rth u r point of view. Secretary of S ta te Acheson w as referred to as b ein g p o litic a lly in d iscree t, but he is n o t resp o n sib le f o r th e rem oval of M acA rth u r. He serves as a whipping board fo r the ad m in istratio n and his re s ig n a tio n h a s been on President T ru m a n 's desk fo r a long tim e but will not be accepted. I t is M r. A h e a v n 's opinion that P re s id e n t T ru m a n w ill probably be th e 1952 p re s id e n tia l candidate for th e D em ocratic p a r ty and th a t Gen eral E isenhow er will not accept nom in a tio n fro m e ith e r p a rty in that event. S enator T a ft is believed to fan sh o rt of "w in n in g " qualities, Gover n o r D ew ey sym bolizes d efeat, Gvet' n o r W a rr e n is on th e "lib eral' si e and it is to be hoped th a t Genera M a c A rth u r does n o t ru n , in th e woi of Mr. A hearn. T h e tw o m ost im p o rta n t problem facing the world today are the a g e s o f n a tu r a l re so u rces and *urP population. It was pointed out th e U n ite d S ta te s is not a 86 tained nation, having to import i ore, copper, alum inum , rubber, chrom ite, m anganese, tungsten, w zinc and lead, etc. Because of t needs, we a re com m itted to a un . world and m ust build an organ of nations with prestige and a W--' p H- cubi' lumi pflie -or 8 mori test ' . {he ` age abol of <* rea* wsyi fusi, poor utili: don In. ; but ( suite t ter, ; poor requi Utili! Re causi capa is 1 gene is ah vailh Th iatii : th n ^ and th j huti ; highl - cond , only : They : frolli ( Wf : want well f whilt E tion" that j flame f- hut t the i; i that i "Wgl i th.. i frate | eomb > fuel I 'Azi* I Industrial Research, S tate College of tVashingtor, Pullm an, in his paper "Dimensional Changes in U nit Ma sonry," outlined the findings of th e division during its extensive research into the problem. Pum ice a g g re g a te block, w hile noth in g re a lly new , cam e into w idespread use d u rin g and im mediately a fte r W orld W ar II. Pum ice block have good in su latio n q u alities, can be sawed readily and have good nailability. Acoustical properties are superior to stan d ard sand and gravel units and fire resistance is excellent. V ast deposits of g ra n u la r pum ice in central O regon, located close to both rail and highw ay tran sp o rtatio n , offer the concrete m asonry industry an abundance of excellent m aterial a t reasonable cost. " C racking" of finish ed pum ice block s tru c tu r e s h a s d is couraged builders from m aking the greatest use possible of the light weight block, however. The problem w as attacked by m ak ing a prolonged study of th e re la tionship between m oisture and dim en sional change a t constant tem p era ture. T e st w alls of s ta n d a rd 8- x 8- x 16-in. 3-core block, o b tain ed fro m commercial block plants, w ere erected with both sta n d a rd sand and gravel block and pum ice a g g re g a te u n its. For the long term tests the panels were placed in a room equipped w ith humidity and tem p eratu re control equipment. T em perature w as m ain tained a t 85 deg. F . an d re la tiv e h u midity ranged from 20 percent up to near saturation. Dimensional changes in th e p an els w ere checked a t 1 2 points in each panel w ith a 3 5&-in. dial in d icato r g ra d u a te d to .001 in. The efficacy of p a te n te d w ire jo in t r e inforcement m aterials w as also te st ed in ad d itio n al p an els. A cce le ra te d tests on single block w ere ru n , but on a w et vs. d ry b a sis only. Panels w ere inspected closely fo r signs of cracking. F irs t cracking w as detected 97 days a fte r th e panels were placed in the te s t room . C racks that were readily visible during the low hum idity cycles d is a p p e a re d d u r ing the w ater sp ra y periods. A few of the larg est cracks failed to close once they had form ed, however. Dim ension al changes w ere fo u n d to ta k e p la c e quite rapidly w ith changes in humidity, p a rtic u la rly d u rin g hum idity increases. This was probably due to the com paratively rapid ra te of in crease in m oisture con ten t as op posed to th e slow er r a te o f loss d u rin g he d ry in g cycle. In th e in d iv id u a l ock used in th e a c ce le ra te d te s ts it found th a t ap p ro x im ately 90 per- cent of th e dim ensional change oc curred in a few m inutes w hile the ok w ere being im m ersed. Conclusions tcached as a resu lt of e tests indicate th at for an equal Rtmospherie hum idity change, ( 1 ) Pumice block have g re a te r dimen- a n hange than the sta n d a rd gravel g regate unit?, f 2> th e pum ice block chan a more rapid rate of 12) fh ^ 3n r e fftRa r u n its, an d uq maximum dim ension change below the 40 percent block m oisture content level for th e pumice ag g re g ate block w as 0.750 in. per hundred feet contraction. One interesting fact discovered d u rin g the accelerated tests was th a t the perm anent change had ap p aren tly all tak en place w ith in about 45 days. T he use of w ire re inforcem ent laid in th e m o rta r joints provides considerable re stra in t on the horizontal dim ension change of pum ice a g g re g a te panels. Flotation Jam es A. B arr, Jr., research chem ist, A rm o u r & Co., in his ta lk " R ecent A dvances in M inerals Beneficiation," revealed how radioactive atom s are now aiding industry. "T agged" atom s, obtained from the Atom ic Energy Commission, a re used to trace the p a th s of v ario u s com ponents in flota tion feed. F orm erly this w as a very difficult task but w ith radiation de tecting equipm ent it has become rela tively simple and rapid. A nother in te re s tin g fe a tu re in flotation research is th e occasional accidental discovery of a suitable reag en t which w orks perfectly but for no readily apparent reason. It often requires painstaking " E disonian" research to discover the reasons w hy one reag en t w orks w hile an o th er closely sim ilar one does not. Mr. B a rr supplem ented his talk w ith a high-speed m otion picture show ing the flotation process in action. M inerals Uses A t th e noon luncheon, held in th e M irror Room of the P ortland H otel, R ichard J. A nderson of B attelle Mem orial In stitu te briefly enum erated some of the new est uses fo r the im p o rtan t in d u strial m inerals. Follow in g th is th e g-uests w ere tak en on a Kodachrome tour through the nu merous laboratories of Battelle, an in dustry-sponsored research organiza tion located a t Colum bus, Ohio. Asbestos W ith the technical sessions cleared aw ay, delegates relaxed a t a cocktail p a rty which blended eventually into the evening banquet. D r. A. B. Cum mins, research director, Johns-M anville Co., an d c h a irm a n of th e In d u s tria l M inerals D ivision of A.I.M .E., gave the principal address of the eve ning on "A sbestos-- a General Re view ." D r. Cum m ins described the various types of com m ercially used asbestos, em phasizing th a t the amphibole ty p e of m a te ria l is steadily assum ing a m ore im p o rta n t place in the industry w hich has relied largely upon ehrysotile fibers in the past. Al though the U nited S tates leads the w orld in th e consum ption of asbestos it m ust depend alm ost en tirely on m a terial im ported from C anada. The eastern C anadian asbestos deposits extend in a so u th w esterly belt of con siderable length w hich stops alm ost exactly a t the U. S. border. T he one dom estic deposit of any economic im po rtan ce in th is co u n try is located a t the very southernm ost top of this belt ROCK PRODUCTS July. 1951 in n o rth e rn V erm ont. A color film which traced the various stages in the processing of asbestos, produced by Johns-M anville, rounded out Dr. Cum m ins' talk. Plant Inspections No conference would be complete w ithout p la n t to u rs, so on S a tu rd a y 35 rain -rep ellen t delegates visited Sm ithw ick Concrete Products' H aydite plant. The plant features the largest ro ta ry kiln, m easu rin g 100 feet in length by 8 fe e t in diam eter, used in the industry. Fossiliferous shale b ro u g h t in 40 m iles by ra il is ex p an d ed to produce lightw eight aggregate. A t the M ixermobile M anufacturing Co., g u e sts w e re show n th ro u g h th e large plant w here various types of earthm oving and concrete-m ixing equipm ent are m anufactured. Of p a r ticular interest w as the radial threecylinder steam engine being b u ilt to power a large earthm oving unit. Es tim ates by the group of the tim e re quired to "fire-up" the radical de p artu re from stan d ard m otive power ran g ed from sev eral hours to 10 m in., bu t the designers believe th a t 40 sec. will be sufficient. L ast stop fo r the day was a t the Oswego plant of the O re gon P ortland C em ent Co. Raw m ate rial is obtained from tw o sources, w idely separated. H igh grade lim e stone is shipped fro m Lim e, O regon in th e eastern p a rt of the state w hile a low g ra d e lim estone is q u arried a t D allas in th e W illam ette valley. Industrial Sand Meeting (Continued from page 64) ity. The opinion w as expressed th a t we should not w ithdraw from the U nited N ations b u t th a t w e w ould if Red China gains adm ittance. The w orld cannot stand another w ar. In conclusion, M r. A hearn said th a t the m ost im portant asset of this country is th e individual ch aracter of th e A m erican people. E n tertainm ent T h ere being som e 35 ladies p re s ent, a delightful program of enter tainm ent was provided. A bridge-tea w as conducted on th e opening a fte r noon and golf tournam ents, w ith a p propriate prizes, w ere conducted for both men and w om en. As per custom, cocktail p arties and bingo gam es comprised th e evening entertainm ent and a special featu re w as a picnic fo r all in attendance as guests of th e as sociation. Cement Plant Expansion A l p h a P ortland Ce m e n t Co ., E aston, Penn., recently announced plans to expand facilities a t its Jam esville, N. Y., p la n t. P la n s call fo r increasing the p lan t's capacity to 1.000. 000 bbl. of cem ent annually. M acD onald E n g in e e rin g Co., Chicago, 111., h a s been a w a rd e d a g e n e ra l con tra c t for the construction. The new facilities a re expected to be in op era tio n by 1952. on